Reece James hailed the patience and composure Chelsea showed during our hard-fought 2-1 victory over Copenhagen in the first leg of our Conference League Round of 16 tie.
In a challenging European fixture, the Blues had to overcome a resilient home side and a raucous atmosphere inside the Parken Stadium, but a measured second-half performance proved decisive in helping us take a lead back to Stamford Bridge ahead of next week's return leg.
The skipper opened the scoring within a minute of the interval, rifling a powerful effort into the bottom corner, while [Enzo Fernandez](/en/teams/profile/enzo-fernandez) made it two soon after to help us on our way to victory.
Reece felt it was a battle from start to finish in the Danish capital, and he was pleased the Blues were able to see out the victory. The 25-year-old acknowledged the key was keeping calm and sticking to the plan, despite the challenges posed by the hosts.
‘It was a tough game in an amazing atmosphere,’ said the Chelsea captain.
‘We knew coming here wasn’t going to be easy and in the first half we found it tough to break them down. They set up probably a little different to what we expected. We made some changes at half-time and in the second half we really grew into the game.
‘The first half was about staying calm and not getting frustrated. We were playing against such a deep block and in the past we'd have probably been frustrated in the first half. That’s been tough going into the second half previously, but this time we stuck to the game plan and stayed cool.’
Reflecting on his opener, Reece was delighted to contribute to the scoreline. He joked: ‘It was a bit of a bad pass from Cucurella! I probably helped him out with an assist. I got a clean strike on the ball and the goalkeeper couldn’t get there.
‘We just knew that we needed to continue playing and that chances would appear. We felt the game would open up and I think we saw that with the goals.’
For James, the incredible support from the travelling Chelsea faithful - who made their voices heard throughout the contest - was a highlight of the evening.
‘It was amazing to see the great turnout from the Chelsea fans, so many of them travelled and it really means a lot,’ he added.
‘It’s a great feeling to hear my chant. This club is what I’ve known my whole life. To be respected by them so much is an honour for me.’